A Plague On Necromancy Review
( I was supposed to get it a few days from now, but it came early! This is surprising considering mail delivery services like to pretend I don't exist . Amazon Isn't letting me leave a review rn, I'll try again though) Tldr: I liked it alot and recommend you read it.
Spoilers? Maybe? I talk about Bucklers secrets, but not what exactly they are, just my vague thoughts on them. Also this is super long so buck-ler up we're going on a road trip ( See what I did there? Haha, why are you booing me off stage?)
Oh boy, where should I start?
The concepts of necromancy and plague doctors are interesting on there own to begin with, but the way this book joins them together is really cool.
The setting is London,in the 1700's. From what I can tell its pretty historically accurate, even if it wasn't I would still enjoy it, I'm chill with historic inaccuracies. I just think its neat when stories that take place in the past go that extra mile. The magic system was really neat, it was cool- sometimes literally haha- but not to overpowered, making it more ... Is 'believable' the right word? Like it never takes you out of the story is what I'm saying, it interacts seamlessly with the world in a way that isn't clunky, if that makes sense.
Barty ( who my auto correct keeps calling Barry lol ) is our protagonist, he's a little confused but he's got the spirit. Oh, poor Barty. The author is so mean to him :( /j . Not only did his bioparents die in a fire, his adopted brother also dies, his adopted parents basically shun him, the doctor he was working with gets the plague and dies. I could go on but spoilers ya know.
Tragedy aside, Barty is relatable at least for me, blushing /embarrass easily, wanting to help people but not knowing how, crying alot and choking on food. ( no seriously he chokes like two distinct times that I can remember. Its hilarious) he's human. He has faults, failures, and troubles along side his positive traits. Its how he deals with them though that's so great I think, I liked hearing his reasoning/train of thought. his dynamics with other characters are fun too. he's also new to the whole doctoring thing, (and magic) making him a good tool for exposition.
I think I'll talk about Buckler now, I had a feeling he was gonna be a favorite of mine and I was right. James Buckler is stern but not altogether unkind, he obviously cares and like Barty he's doing his best really. His dynamic with Barty and other characters was something I liked alot. (When he first met Barty he was a little grouchy for a bit, but Barty was being nosy so it was warranted lol)
I had only heard he had one big secret, I missed the memo that there was another one. I had guessed one of them off the bat, the other one however bitch slapped me as I was only expecting one secret. (I think he should've told Jessica sooner, like I know why but still)
I think its Fabian time, there's so much to unpack with Fabian. Complicated, smart, and very cool. My thoughts when he explained the plan where "ok, what's the catch though?" But there wasn't really a catch was there? he was set up to be the villain by others and ended up being not so much a villain but more of an anti-hero? (At least in this book, he does have the (REDACTED) now doesn't he? Who knows what could happen)
AND OH MY GOD, THE TRUE LOVES KISS THING CAUGHT ME SO OFF GUARD! I WAS LIKE ?!??! it just came out of left fucking field, like "wait, he do can that?" I questioned everything I thought I knew about his powers.
Oh my god , I wanna mention some side characters! I never see anyone mention them and its sad because they are cool too!
Jack the rat catcher is great, I enjoyed all her appearances and her dog (even if Barty didn't lol) .
Agnes, also gets a shout out from me for being a good person.
The zombie rats where oddly adorable too.
Fabian 's gang is extremely interesting aswell, I'm curious about them.
Three particular people are on my shitlist however for reasons. Plot reasons.
this post is getting very long isn't it? If you've read this far, here's a cookie 🍪.
I'm not entirely done though, let's talk about the book as a whole. Its pretty short, but the pacing is good it doesn't feel too rushed or too slow. I'm a fast reader though and finished it in like two-three hours, in one and a half sittings ( I got up to get coffee and my cat sat on the book until she got the required amount of attention and pets before she deemed I could continue, I call it the Cat Tax)
There was one punctuation error I found, a quotation mark was missing after Fabian was talking ( I forgot the specific page), it wasn't to big a deal though and other than it was all good. I also liked the writing style! I'm glad i 've finally read it, it gives the ask blogs lots of context.
I can easily see this as something I would get from a bookstore or library, I think it could get pretty popular if more word got around about it honestly.
(I actually don't have a tiktok, I learned about it through Tumblr)
I enjoyed reading it!
if your reading this and have not read the book, I recommend it! All encounters I've had with the author has been positive, there's also another book about Barty meeting a dragon.
You can find links to both books on Barty's ask blog, @drbarty. Fabian has one to: @lordfabian
(Was Fabian really the one who was assassinated or me? I almost died laughing at 'shite fish' , my favorite bit . I'm still giggling)
(Also I'm going to start using 'shite fish' out of context now, )
if I remember any other notes I'll put them here.
(Readers: How much trauma do your characters have?
The author: yES/j)
(the Author: *slaps roof of characters* this bad boy can fit so many horrible backstories/j)
(Are you even a creator if you don't torture your ocs tho? I dump my ocs in a blender and put them in the microwave on high for two hours and burn the house down then refrigerate for two days, so I'm not actually judging lmao)
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